[Childcare] Play and games for 0-year-old babies: Fun developmental and educational activities
Just looking at tiny, adorable babies makes you feel happy, doesn’t it?
We tend to think that newborns spend most of their time sleeping, but it’s also a period of remarkable growth.
Interacting closely and playing together with familiar people provides babies with plenty of stimulation and has very positive effects on their physical and mental development, as well as on attachment formation.
Let’s actively incorporate lots of play not only at daycare but at home, too.
In this article, we’ll introduce plenty of activities you can enjoy together with your baby.
From bonding games and sensory play to activities using educational toys, a wide variety of play ideas are gathered here!
Find the perfect activities that match your baby’s age in months and developmental stage.
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[Childcare] Play and games for 0-year-old babies: fun developmental and educational activities (1–10)
Hand game ‘Ton ton ton ton Anpanman’
A path that almost all children go through—could it be Anpanman? Before you know it, even very young kids are captivated by Anpanman.
This hand-play song, “Ton ton ton ton Anpanman,” is an arrangement of “Ton ton ton ton Hige Jiisan” using Anpanman characters.
Main characters like Anpanman, Shokupanman, and Currypanman make an appearance.
Above all, it’s easy to understand, with very simple choreography, making it a highly recommended hand-play song.
Interactive play “The Rag Song”
A playful bonding activity for parents and babies called “The Rag Song” treats the baby like a little cleaning rag.
The song describes each step—from stitching the rag, to washing it with water, wringing it out, and finally cleaning with it.
As each verse plays, you move your hands over the baby’s body to match the actions.
For the stitching part, gently poke with both index fingers as if sewing with a needle.
For wringing, lightly twist the baby’s legs as though wringing out a rag.
Between each movement, stroke broadly from the baby’s chest down to their tummy.
Because you move the legs and give soothing strokes, it also serves as a good massage for the baby!
Fluttering futon
This little game is all about fluttering a futon to make your baby laugh.
It’s simple—you just wave the futon gently—but the futon’s mysterious movement really captures their attention.
If you play peekaboo by hiding your face behind the futon and popping out with a “Boo!”, you’re almost guaranteed even bigger smiles! Using a futon makes it a larger-scale peekaboo than usual, and it might even spark your baby’s very first belly laugh.
It’s also fun to do it while singing a cheerful song!
[Childcare] Play and games for 0-year-old babies: Fun developmental and educational activities (11–20)
Hand play ‘Panda, Rabbit, Koala’
A fun hand-play song that calls over various animals, “Panda, Bunny, Koala.” When you invite the animals to come here, you imitate each one using your hands.
For example, for a panda, you make a circle with each hand and place them over your eyes to represent the black patches around a panda’s eyes.
After calling the panda, bunny, and koala, you do each imitation in rhythm, one after another.
As a bunch of different animals appear all at once, even babies will gradually get excited!
Interactive Play: Riding the Bus
This is recommended for babies whose necks are stable.
With a parent firmly supporting their back or sitting them on your lap, sway or bounce together to the song.
From small, quick movements to big twisting motions, there are plenty of fun moments waiting for your baby.
It’s great that parent and child are always in physical contact.
It’s a perfect chance to deepen your bond even more.
Be careful not to move too vigorously, as it could lead to injury!
Sticker play
Let’s try a sticker activity that kids love! You might think stickers are too early for a 0-year-old, but they’ll likely show interest.
Small stickers or complex shapes are hard for little fingers to hold and stick, so gather large, bold, colorful stickers to play with.
Since they probably can’t peel them off the backing by themselves, peel them first and hand them over.
If you use the inside surface of a milk carton as the base, the stickers can be stuck on and peeled off again, making a reusable sheet they can enjoy over and over.
Interactive play “French Bread”
“French Bread” is a playful activity where you imagine a baby’s chubby, adorable arms and legs as a tasty baguette and gently touch them.
As the lyrics mention spreading butter or jam on the baguette, you softly stroke the baby’s arms and legs.
Once you’ve ‘spread’ various toppings and made a delicious-looking baguette, celebrate by twinkling your fingers in front of the baby.
When it’s time to ‘eat,’ wiggle your fingers in a tickly way over the baby’s body to show munching.
It turns into a very soothing massage for the baby!